America's third largest carrier Sprint is finally able to carry the iPhone, and is celebrating by offering a $69.99 unlimited data plan with 450 voice minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling, or a $99 plan with unlimited data and calls.

Formerly rumored to be the only US carrier to continue offering an unlimited data plan for the iPhone, Sprint's plans have now been confirmed by Wall Street Journal blogger Ina Fried.

Unlimited differentiation

Sprint hopes to stand out from both Verizon Wireless and AT&T, both of which have since terminated their "all you can eat" data plans in favor of tiered pricing plans.

AT&T now offers a DataPlus plan with 200MB for $15 per month, a DataPro plan with 2GB for $25 per month, and a DataPro 4GB plan for $45 per month, the latter which includes tethering support.

Any of the three data plans (pdf) must be added to voice plans starting at $39.99 for 450 anytime minutes and ranging to $69.99 for unlimited anytime minutes.

Verizon offers the same voice plan pricing tiers as AT&T, paired with a wider variety of data plans including $10 for 75MB, $30 for 2GB, $50 for 5GB, and $80 for 10GB. Users who go over their monthly allotment are charged $10 per gigabyte, or $10 per 75MB on the entry-level plan.

All three US carriers will now be selling the same iPhone 4S model, but Sprint, like Verizon, will only be using its CDMA capabilities, which offer limited data speeds. The new phone's support for 14.4 Mbps HSDPA service will only be of potential use by GSM/UMTS mobile carriers like AT&T, although even AT&T won't be supporting the iPhone 4S' full potential, at least not from the start.

In addition to its unlimited plan, Sprint can also tempt users in some areas with better service coverage. In some cities, such as San Francisco, Sprint appears to have better mobile coverage than its competitors, although this difference is specific to certain cell tower locations.

iPhone users on Sprint may also find they have less competition for the company's network, particularly when they're in areas where there are already lots of iPhone users saturating the bandwidth of AT&T or Verizon.

"We have every confidence in the ability of our 3G network to handle the influx of devices we expect to get. It certainly hasnt been an issue to date," Sprint spokesperson Michelle Leff Mermelstein told the Journal.

The carrier maintains enough confidence in its ability to sell Apple's iPhone that it has reportedly agreed to the upfront purchase of more than 30 million iPhones over the next four years.

The deal, worth an estimated $20 billion, is likely to see the carrier operate at loss on its iPhone initiative until at least 2014.

Global mobile roaming

The world-mode compatibility of the new iPhone 4S also means that Sprint and Verizon users will be able to take their device roaming on foreign networks, most of which are compatible with GSM/UMTS.

AT&T will remain the exclusive carrier of the GSM/UMTS-only, 8GB iPhone 3GS, which will now be subsidized for free with a contract. The existing iPhone 4, now reduced to being available only as a $99, 8GB model, will remain specific to GSM/CDMA in the US, with Apple's website noting that the model "will only work with the carrier you choose."

Apple's site notes that the 8GB iPhone 4 is "coming soon" to Sprint, indicating that the new third US carrier will sell both the CDMA-only iPhone 4 as well as the global, dual mode iPhone 4S.

PS: Have you read about Verizon's network being hit harder than they expected by all the smartphone traffic?

I agree with you 100%. Contrary to what the AT&T haters think, AT&T has been great for me, and I'm saying that coming from the AT&T "wireless black hole" of San Francisco too! I don't use voice & data simultaneously too often, but when I do it's priceless.

Haven't read much about Verizon's traffic issues. It would not surprise me though. Can you spare a link containing those fun tidbits? Would make some great reading.

It is not a bait and switch as long as Sprint honors the unlimited for the life of the contract. I know Verizon and AT&T iPhone users who still have unlimited plans who were grandfathered in. The same will be true for Sprint.

Both Verizon and AT&T are greedy. If they were really worried about bandwidth, they'd still offer unlimited plans, but throttle data in peak times or do as T-Mobile does: offer unlimited, but throttle data after a certain threshold.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sflocal

It'll be bait-and-switch. Advertise unlimited, wait a year and then start charging. All it takes is those top 5% of users to abuse it and make Sprint change their tune for everyone.

The world-mode compatibility of the new iPhone 4S also means that Sprint and Verizon users will be able to take their device roaming on foreign networks, most of which are compatible with GSM/UMTS.

If Sprint really wants to do something to attract customers they should allow customers to use GSM with other carrier's SIM cards! As long as you're paying for Sprint coverage you should be able to avoid all national and international roaming charges by buying a prepaid SIM card. This would be very attractive to customers who travel a lot.

According to the Verizon website, to roam on an international GSM network with a Verizon iPhone 4S you have to pay high roaming charges (e.g., $20/MB in Europe). You might be able to jailbreak, but who knows whether/when this will be possible on the 4S. AT&T is similar.

I used Sprint (I still have my Treo phone) for years before the iPhone was introduced and I went to AT&T. I liked Sprint, found their service OK and loved that they had an unlimited voice plan for Canada.

I'm thinking of going back to them and I'm trying to decide if I should purchase an unlocked iPhone 4s (I confirmed today with Apple that an unlocked version would be available, but pricing is not yet set) as I do a lot of international travel.

I am hearing rumors that Sprint will lock only the CDMA, thus allowing the GSM spectrum to be utilized by prepaid phone cards or local SIM cards when traveling overseas. That would another huge plus for Sprint if that pans out.

Still many questions remain about how best to purchase the 4s (pre-orders will not be available from Apple for Sprint - unless Sprint gets their act together (this according to Apple rep also)). Also the only way to trade in my old 3Gs is to NOT pre-order, but go to the Apple store on Friday at 8 AM (pristine 3Gs is worth $105 while a 4 is worth about $200 from Apple on trade in, but only if done at the time of new phone purchase/upgrade - this also per Apple rep today).

I'm on AT&T with 2 iPhones plus one voice-only phone for my oldest. I'm planning on switching to 4 iPhones, and to have that many data plans on AT&T is much more than on Sprint. Verizon is waay out of the park expensive.

The question I have to decide is will Sprint be better or worse than AT&T in customer service & call quality (Seattle area). Secondly, is the savings per month (roughly $30 definite, plus Sprint has more minutes & unlimited data) worth the cost of switching. If I stay with AT&T I can hand-me-down my iPhone 4 & the wife's 3GS to the kids plus I still have about $175 in early termination fees with AT&T.

I *really* hate the way AT&T nickels & dimes me for every little thing, so I'm tempted just for that reason to switch.

I think if Sprint can't handle a call & data at the same time, I won't switch.

I think if Sprint can't handle a call & data at the same time, I won't switch.

Since Sprint is CDMA, I can guarantee that it won't be able to handle cellular data and voice at the same time. As with the Verizon iPhone, wifi and voice will work fine.

I had a smartphone on Sprint for years literally never needed to use voice and cellular data at the same time. It's a good marketing bulletpoint for AT&T but not actually that important in the real world.

Pretty sure you have to go to an Apple Store or apple.com for unlocked versions. I don't think any carrier wants you to see that option.

Edit: There's only one handset for the U.S. and it has both sets of guts. Buying a unlocked from an Apple Store should let you take it to any of the 3 carriers for activation or activate it at the Apple Store.

It is not a bait and switch as long as Sprint honors the unlimited for the life of the contract. I know Verizon and AT&T iPhone users who still have unlimited plans who were grandfathered in. The same will be true for Sprint.

Unfortunately Sprint is so far doing a horrible job marketing / building on the iPhone 4S - as a customer I've been visiting their site regularly since the announcement Tuesday, and they've yet to indicate on their own website that they'll soon be offering the iPhone 4S. When I go to look at smartphones - as a "premier" customer - all I'm offered are Android and Windows models. Very dumb - they should be trumpeting the 4S, taking names (or offering to reach out to me when they start taking names), etc.

Doncha love it when AT&T gets hit in the face with a large, cold, wet fish? Do you suppose they'll respond with a competitive product that their customers actually want, or just buy a few six packs of Congressmen and have the nerdy kid beaten up at recess?

Unfortunately Sprint is so far doing a horrible job marketing / building on the iPhone 4S - as a customer I've been visiting their site regularly since the announcement Tuesday, and they've yet to indicate on their own website that they'll soon be offering the iPhone 4S. When I go to look at smartphones - as a "premier" customer - all I'm offered are Android and Windows models. Very dumb - they should be trumpeting the 4S, taking names (or offering to reach out to me when they start taking names), etc.

It's been on their home page since late afternoon yesterday (Wednesday). I admit they should have updated their page at least by that morning, but really... you don't see it today? Even with a refresh?

It's been on their home page since late afternoon yesterday (Wednesday). I admit they should have updated their page at least by that morning, but really... you don't see it today? Even with a refresh?

I see it there now - I don't recall when precisely I last checked yesterday.

But regardless, you have to agree that the savvy (and logical) marketing move would have been to have the page ready to come up the *second* that Cook mentioned Sprint's name on Tuesday.

It's been on their home page since late afternoon yesterday (Wednesday). I admit they should have updated their page at least by that morning, but really... you don't see it today? Even with a refresh?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sierrajeff

I see it there now - I don't recall when precisely I last checked yesterday.

But regardless, you have to agree that the savvy (and logical) marketing move would have been to have the page ready to come up the *second* that Cook mentioned Sprint's name on Tuesday.

Sprint is also trying to pull a fast one by wanting to charge me $99 for the 8GB (again, ?!) iPhone 4S -- supposedly after applying a special $150 discount because I've been a customer for eons. Whereas as a new customer on AT&T, I could also get the 8GB (again, ?!?!) for $99.

Sprint is also trying to pull a fast one by wanting to charge me $99 for the 8GB (again, ?!) iPhone 4S -- supposedly after applying a special $150 discount because I've been a customer for eons. Whereas as a new customer on AT&T, I could also get the 8GB (again, ?!?!) for $99.

Sprint offers the iPhone 4 (the 8GB version is the only iPhone 4 available for Sprint) for preorder today and will allow preorders for the 4s starting tomorrow, the same as everyone else. The text from Sprint's page below:

"While supplies last pre-order iPhone 4 online today. iPhone 4S will be available for pre-order on Friday, Oct. 7."

There are a lot of rumors that both Sprint and Verizon are upgrading their EVDO to Revision B and/or 1XAdvanced. That would mean far faster data speeds comparable to HSPA+. Sprint has a big network announcement tomorrow so we will know more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evoluti...TIA-856_Rev._B
2) I heard rumours about Rev. B years ago but nothing since Sprint and Verizon committed to WiMAX and LTE, respectively. What would ave changed to make them add Rev. B this late in the game as the world moves toward '4G'?

Quote:

People also forget that in addition to unlimited data, texts, and calling to mobile phones Sprint offers two other nice features with their plans. Telenav with voice turn by turn which both AT&T and Verizon charge about $10 a month for is included for free on Sprint. Also, if you call a lot of landline phones your anytime minutes start at 7PM and not 9PM like the other carriers which might help some people out. All calls to any mobile phone are unlimited so you only use your anytime minutes for landline calls.

For my needs moving to Sprint over AT&T wouldn't pay any less per month yet get worse overall service by having considerable slower data rates.

If you make a lot of calls, send a lot of text, and don't care so much about fast data speeds then Sprint sounds like it would be a good option.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

Actually Rev. B is a lot faster than that Wikipedia link. With channel bonding it can go as high as 10 down. Unless you are downloading big files a lot or tethering, really 3MB is plenty fast for a cellphone. Also what good would faster speeds do you is you have a data cap? Even the grandfathered plans are being targeted now by Verizon and AT&T for the top 5%.

Actually Rev. B is a lot faster than that Wikipedia link. With channel bonding it can go as high as 10 down.

1) Then that's a lot slower than HSPA+ which doesn't even start until 14.4Mbps and goes up to 84Mbps.

2) Wikipedia states it correctly.

Quote:

As to why they would go with Rev B now in addition to WiMax and Lte, you must not have heard about multi-mode towers or network vision. Rev. B is a pretty minor and cheap upgrade to Rev. A already in place which will be around for many more years to supplement LTE. Don't forget there is still no VoLTE in place yet.

Again, if it's so easy, cheap and fast why was it shelved in favour of LTE and WiMAX, and in some areas for UMTS(HSDPA/HSUPA/HSPA+)?

Quote:

How much do you pay a month for your iPhone plan on AT&T? I think the free voice turn by turn is a nice feature on Sprint with Telenav though. I would really miss that and wouldn't like to have to pay about $10 a month for it. That chart you posted is a little misleading. Why would anyone get the 900 or unlimited voice plans on Sprint? The 450 minute plan gives you unlimited mobile calls so that is the plan most people would choose. So for $79 you basically get unlimited everything. Most companies also offer a large corporate discount of 20 to 25% bring it down for many people to around $59.

Misleading? So all those comparable price points aren't accurate? Where are they lying?

Quote:

You might enjoy your slightly faster data speeds now, but Sprint will catch pretty soon. It already has passed AT&T if you have a 4G WiMax Android phone and live in a 4G city. Here in Atlanta I routinely get about 10Mb on average which is far faster than my friend's iPhone on AT&T. I would hate to have to watch my text, data, or voice minute usage every month after I am so used to having unlimited. To each his own. I switched from AT&T to Sprint and am far happier with coverage and prices and especially customer service. Sprint will bend over backwards to help you out now. They used to be pretty bad but in the last few years they are excellent.

Aren't you not paying attention? 14.4Mbps on AT&T is not slightly faster than EV-DO Rev. A on Sprint. It's world apart.

Even ignoring the power-vampire that is WiMAX, why would you compare WiMAX when the iPhone 4S clearly doesn't have WiMAX and it's doubtful it ever will. Sprint will move to LTE and the iPhone will get LTE.

PS: Be careful what you wish for. Verizon has made efforts to stop the data hungry iPhone users and I am sure there network can handle traffic better than Sprint so you need to ask yourself how many iPhone users can Sprint get before they have to end their unlimited plans and/or throttle heavy data users.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

Oh yeah, this chart is over a year old but in that time neither Sprint nor Verizon's '3G' speeds have increased whilst AT&T and T-Mobile's '3G' speeds have gone up considerably. How 'bout them Apples?

PS: Good luck with Sprint. You should be happy not everybody is as smart as you as it will keep Sprint's network free and clear. Feel free to trick as many people as you want to move from a faster '3G' network to a slower one. You seriously have my blessing on that.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

I think people need to choose the best carrier for them based on a number of criteria. Sprint suits my needs because it is very reliable in terms of voice and data coverage, offers far more value in their plans for much less money. Obviously you seem to think that AT&T is better for you which is fine. Just don't try and criticize Sprint if you have never even used it. I was with AT&T and still have friends on AT&T with an iPhone that have to borrow my phone to make calls. It is true that goind with an iPhone 4s means I will lose my fast WiMax speeds that I was used to, but that is Apple's fault for not including WiMax like every other high end phone on Sprint. I much rather have my slower but reliable 3G than no signal half the time on AT&T.

Funny that the chart you posted proved my point. Where are all those 14.4Mbps speed you touted? I will enjoy my unlimited calls, data, and texts for $50 a month on my new iPhone 4S. I hope you enjoy yours as well at whatever price you are paying for your inferior carrier.

You should take your advice. You're the one that have been pooh-poohing every carrier that isn't' Sprint while I've stated, verbatim, "For my needs" and "If you make a lot of calls, send a lot of text, and don't care so much about fast data speeds then Sprint sounds like it would be a good option."

It was also you that stated HSPA+ (14.4Mbps - 84Mbps) is comparable as EV-DO Rev. A. (!5Mbps - 15Mbps) despite 1) that clearly not being true, 2) Sprint not offering EV-DO Rev. B, and 3) only the assumed Qualcomm chipset in the iPhone 4S having the option for EV-DO Rev. B with evidence to suggest it won't have it.

Why you need to make up reasons you like Sprint is pretty pathetic. Again, I'm the one that stated. "If you make a lot of calls, send a lot of text, and don't care so much about fast data speeds then Sprint sounds like it would be a good option." yet all you've done is say how AT&T sucks because you don't get theoretical data speeds of 14.4Mbps on a phone that isn't yet on the market.

Tell you what. You find me a SpeedTest rating for any Sprint phone with '3G' downstream that is faster than this AT&T '3G' rating from nearly 1.5 years ago and I'll buy you a Sprint iPhone 4S.

Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"

Apple will sell a ridiculous number of phones this quarter due to having more carriers. This is such good news for me because I just bought more shares of AAPL and Sprint is my carrier. I will finally switch from my android samsung. A good phone but I really want Siri.